Not paying social insurance for foreign staff is rarely an open decision — it usually starts as we will fix it next quarter and stretches into years. When discovered, the company faces three layers at once: full back-collection, daily late-payment interest, and at the serious end, criminal liability.
Layers one and two: back-collection and administrative fines
The social insurance agency may collect the entire unpaid or underpaid social and health insurance for foreign employees, plus late-payment interest computed daily on the amount and the delay. In parallel, failure to contribute for employees is fined administratively in the labour and social insurance field under Decree 283/2026/ND-CP (replacing Decree 12/2022/ND-CP from 10 September 2026), with penalties scaling by the number of affected employees and an order to pay the shortfall together with interest. Notably, the debt does not vanish when the specialist has flown home — the obligation belongs to the company and remains collectible on inspection.
Layer three: when it becomes the crime of evading contributions
Article 216 of the Penal Code criminalises evading social, health and unemployment insurance contributions for employees: using deception or other tricks to not pay or underpay, at a scale of ten or more employees or above statutory money thresholds, after a prior administrative sanction for the same conduct. For FDI companies, criminal exposure rarely comes from one missed period; it comes from systematic patterns — splitting salary into allowances to shrink the contribution base, under-registering headcount, or keeping two books — signs of deception rather than clerical error.
Remediate before the State knocks
- Self-audit all foreign staff across three reconciled sources — labour contracts, payroll and social insurance declarations — to quantify what is unpaid before any inspector does.
- File supplements and pay back-contributions voluntarily: self-remediation before an inspection decision is a significant mitigating factor at both administrative and criminal layers.
- Restructure pay back to its real substance, folding fixed allowances into the contribution base as required, to stop new violations accruing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What fines apply for not insuring foreign staff?
The company faces full back-collection with late-payment interest, plus administrative fines under Decree 283/2026/ND-CP scaled by the number of affected employees, and an order to pay the whole shortfall with interest.
How far back can collection reach?
Collection covers the whole unpaid or underpaid period, with late-payment interest at 0.03% per day under the Social Insurance Law 41/2024 mechanism; the obligation does not end when the employee leaves Vietnam.
Can it become criminal?
Yes. Article 216 of the Penal Code punishes evading SI, HI and UI contributions where deception is shown, at a scale of ten or more employees or above statutory thresholds, following a prior administrative sanction for similar conduct.
How should it be fixed?
Self-audit, supplementary filing and voluntary payment of the back amount before inspection is the most effective route; in parallel, normalise the contribution base from the current payroll period so no new violation accrues while the past is settled.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council